Fire Emblem/Tear Jerker

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • The death of Ninian, the Dancer of Eliwood's troupe in Fire Emblem 7. Even worse when little Nils starts screaming as he sees his older sister's corpse, a prelude of his Heroic BSOD.
    • And if you're an Eliwood/Ninian shipper, it's even worse: imagine killing the one you love and not realizing it until it's too late... In fact, if you have the Eliwood/Ninian A-level Support, the music becomes that much sadder.
      • Not just the music. Her Famous Last Words becomes sadder and more poignant with the A support. If they don't have it, Ninian just smiles and tells him she's glad he's unharmed. If they do, she also begs him to protect her beloved Elibe. Gaaaaah.
      • Yes, but the A support with Eliwood and Ninian makes the overall outcome a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming at the end.
      • At least she gets better by the final battle. And she kicks some fire dragon ass along the way.
        • Actually make that two fire dragons.
          • It brings another Tear Jerker, tho: the Dragons weren't evil per se, the only wanted to see Elibe one last time, hence why they answered the call. Ninian lampshades this by crying for them as she kills them and saying she's sorry several times.
        • Yet another tearjerker from the same character. If Eliwood and Ninian have an A-support, she stays with him in Elibe... at the cost of a drastically shortened lifespan. In other words, she's dead! Oh no! But wait, she came back to life! Hooray! And now in a few years she's dead again, this time depriving a child of a mother. * sniff* Maybe the reason she gets so much hate isn't her femininity, but how SAD her A-support is...
  • 99% of the death quotes.
  • In Fire Emblem 8, the death of Joshua's mother, Queen Ismaire. Also, Lyon's conversations with Ephraim's are even more heartwretching than the ones he has with Eirika. The trick is how different the twins' reactions to Lyon are; Eirika has always been emotional and that's okay, but seeing the calm and collected Ephraim LOSE it when he faces Lyon...
    • Knoll and Duessel's A support conversation: "We are dead men who strayed too far from our graves." Knoll himself is a magnet for tragedy, especially his ending. He doesn't even stay to enjoy Grado being back to normal and if you go by the aforementioned support, it's possible he's dead.
    • Actually his ending and supports with Natasha implies that he stayed and helped restore Grado, and eventually left his homeland, likely out of guilt for being one of the assistants of Lyon who unintentionally assisted his prince in causing a war and resurrecting the Demon King, which is also quite depressing.
  • The death of Hector and Lilina's reaction in Fire Emblem 6.
  • Fire Emblem 4: It was bad enough being blindsided halfway through the game when Ethlin and Cuan are killed and their daughter Altenna taken captive, but that very same chapter ends with your ally Alvis betraying you and murdering nearly every available playable character, including the main character Sigurd.
      • Ironically, Alvis himself becomes tearjerker material in the second half. He's lost the woman he loved, his son's been turned evil, his empire and all his plans were ruined by Manfroy, Azel's long dead by this point...all that's left for him is death.
      • And for some extra "fun", read the manga. For starters, there's the entire subplot about Eltoshan and Lachesis, especially her total emotional breakdown after he died...In general, that thing is excellent at capturing the characters' emotions and personalities and all, which makes the entire thing extra depressing if you see something good happen to them for once, while knowing of the great plot twist of Chapter 5. This creates a constant air of uncomfortable dread.
  • Most Star-Crossed Lovers people in Fire Emblem do end up here. Especially Miledy and Gale in the 6th game, also Priscilla and Heath in the 7th game. Guy also adheres this, but his relationship doesn't go as much Tear Jerking as the Heath-Priscilla A Support...
    • About the Miledy and Gale thing, it's especially tearjerking when you actually let Miledy kill Gale in one of the last levels (just check the conversation they'll have).
    • Sain and Priscilla's A support is severely depressing, partially because how jarring it is to see the happy-go-lucky, comic relief Sain actually sad. Priscilla is just a magnet for melancholy.
      • The latter is slightly subverted by Priscilla finally getting her happy ending (and a Heartwarming Moments) with Erk.
      • Priscilla seems in fact to get every male character she can talk with in love with her, except Raven and Lucius (understandable) and Oswin. Though you would probably have preferred this kind of support that the actual with him.
        • Come to think of it, Priscilla's supports with Oswin are pretty sad too. The girl embarked in that journey to learn what happened to her parents, and he has to tell her they're gone. Even Oswin, who borders on The Stoic, is depressed.
    • Anothere Star-Crossed Lovers pair is Igrene and Gorlois... now known as Astol. Their A support made me cry like a little girl.

Astol: ...I'm sorry to say this to you, but... That guy is dead. He was devoured by the quicksand of Nabata. All this stuff about spies and whatnot... It's just your imagination. Or perhaps you saw an illusion in the desert heat.
Igrene: ...... I...see... Then... I must have been dreaming... I must have had a dream of a short period of happiness...
Astol: ... Igrene. ...No... Sorry, forget it.
Igrene: ......
Astol: Just...forget it all. ...Please.

  • Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
    • The death of General Shiharam, Jill's Father: not so much during the actual event, but the conversation with Haar and the surviving troops afterwards.

Haar: One, two, three...five in all. We're lucky to have that many.
Soldier: Captain Haar...what are we supposed to do now? General Shiharam is dead, and our homes are gone. What are we to do with our families?
Haar: What do you want to do? We've lost any right we had to stay here. So that leaves Begnion or Crimea...
Soldier: General Shiharam was slain by Crimea...joining with them now is not...it's not possible.
Haar: Then all you can do is return to Begnion. I doubt you'll get a hero's welcome but...I've an old friend in the pegasus knights. Shall I contact her?
Soldier: Sniff...Ah, gods. Eighteen long years...what does any of it mean now?
Haar: Don't say that! No matter what, I'm proud to have served under General Shiharam.
Soldier: You're right...it was an honor...

    • At the end, when Ena is finally reunited with her boyfriend Rajaion, who has been driven insane and is about to die because of the Feral drug. Then the Heron Laguz sing the Galdr of Rebirth, which restores his sanity and turns him back into a normal Laguz... but he still dies a few minutes later.
      • Least he got to die in the arms of the one he loved. And Ena's also pregnant with his child. Also, lets not forget...
    • Ike watched Greil kill Elena when he took the medallion. Making it even worse when he also watched Greil die before his eyes as well.
  • Fa and Sophia from FE 6 have a heart-wrenching support conversation: Fa was crying due to the fact her lifespan is longer than Sophia's, and she didn't want Sophia to die before her and leave her all alone. Her conversation with Ingrine is just as saddening: she mistook Ingrine explaining to her that her friend, Ingrine's daughter, was dead because she said "she went somewhere far away". Fa thought that she did something to make her daughter mad, and if she was good, she'd come back.
  • All of Serra's A supports, but especially the Hector/Serra one, where Serra explains to Hector how she was abandoned at the abbey and ends up crying as she tries to convince herself that her parents will come back for her some day. Seeing the Rich Bitch reveal herself as a Stepford Smiler, and then Hector tells her she's a part of his family... it was very special and very well done.
      • Serra and Lucius' A support: Lucius reveals that his parents died, he is a far cry from nobility, and that the other children made fun of his extremely feminine looks. And what does Serra do? Reject him? Mock him? No. She bawls and hugs him.
  • Legault and Heath's A-support takes a more serious turn when you remember that they're on the run from a group of assassins AND the continent's most powerful army. And even though Legault says he was joking when he pretended to hit on Heath, he also mentions that he's really good at lying.
    • On the note of Legault, if you take him to the final battle against Nergal, he says a few rather depressing lines to the Morphs of Lloyd, Linus, Uhai, and Brendan. Something about his quote at the beginning of Light really hits home. And don't even get started on Legault's supports with Nino...

Legault:"My oh my... Fools aplenty. That includes me, too."

Nino:"Linus... I'll...see you again... I'm sure you're angry, but... Please be my friend...again..."

Rolf:"I... wonder what will happen to me... I'm so scared... Boyd... Broth--"

  • Soren's past in FE 9 and 10, especially when Soren and Ike can have a conversation in the last battle in RD, when Soren just lets it all out and cries in Ike's arms, probably because it was so unusual for Soren to do that.
    • Japanese script. Geoffrey and Elincia's discussion on the walls, and the following discussion that Elincia has with Ludveck, especially her last comment before she walks out and willingly leaves Lucia to her fate.

Elincia: Thank you for letting me see my own weaknesses. To have allowed your ambitions and your rebelliousness to carry out for this long...it was my weakness. To have Crimea, now, in such a broken state, these sins are all mine. I'll bear that sin forevermore, as I dedicate my life to Crimea. I am queen, after all. I will live...for Lucia...

    • When Soren is finally reunited with his mother. And he doesn't even recognize her, even though she recognizes him...
  • Hell, this editor gets depressed when he gets forced to kill bosses that were either likable characters or anti villains. Examples: Linus in FE 7, Celina in FE 8 and worst of all, Shiharam in FE 9 (Jill's sadness at the end and the fact that he never wanted and part in the flooding only made it even worse). This editor was always thinking: "Goddamn it IS.....why are you making me do this......WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME DO THIS?
      • There is also the special death conversation with Bryce if you kill him with Ike. It just makes you even sadder when he dies.

Ike: Farewell, Knight.

    • Zelgius' death in Radiant Dawn. "Now the other person is truly...alone." Then there was also Pelleas' death at your hand, especially when you learn minutes later that it was all in vain.
  • Limstella really died a damn tragic death. She was an incredibly loyal character to the very end. Sure, she was a morph and so she just had to be loyal, but look at Sonia or Ephidel. Both weren't exactly happy about dying. But Limstella? Nergal gave her so much magic power before sending her against the lords that she would die, even if she had won. But did she feel hesitation to go into death for Nergal? Not at all. Still, despite she seems to have no emotions and just does what Nergal says, she was not completely without personality. She knew she was not human and her life was not worth anything (at least this is Nergal's opinion) and still, in her dying breath, she actually shows that she can feel something morphs do not have: emotions. In this case, it is sorrow. Sorrow, that the lords may be powerful enough to defeat Nergal. Even in her last moments she only thought of her master. Now that's loyalty and love. Nergal really did not deserve such a subordinate.
  • Sephiran's death in FE 10. He welcomes death with open arms. And if you have Sanaki Talk to him during the battle...Oh boy. Heck, every boss after Rebirth (1). Lekain was a pleasure to kill, albeit the other guy (Hetzel) didn't really deserve it.
  • Was I the only one who cried when Leila died in FE 7? Perhaps it's because Matthew was my favorite character, but I was horribly depressed by it...
    • No, you weren't. Definitely, not. And Matt's little speech before he re-joins the game? Made me bawl harder.
  • Also from FE7: Chapter 32x: The Value Of Life. Everything about it. Kishuna is possibly the greatest woobie in the entire game, an artificial creature rejected by his creator.
  • Nino seems to exist for two reasons: to be a great mage if raised correctly, and to out-Woobie Kishuna. Let's see: as an infant, her entire family was slaughtered by Sonia. She was taken in by the Black Fang in the hopes of raising her to be a powerful mage. When that failed, she was intentionally sent on a mission she had no hope of completing, to either be killed by enemy forces or assassinated by Jaffar. After that, you are forced to fight against, and kill, her adopted family, all of whom loved her as if they were blood-related. Finally, if you bring her to the last chapter, she gets to see the corpses of said family reanimated with the intent of killing her and her friends and letting Nergal destroy the world. Note that Nino is a 14-year-old girl. Fun fun fun.
    • Not to mention the A-support with Canas revealing him to be her uncle, nor forgetting he has only one ending, in which he dies, too.
      • Poor Nino definitely takes Break the Cutie to new levels. Or, at least, IS's brutal attempts to do so.
    • Several of Nino's endings involve her running away and vanishing. The ending with Nino and Erk involve Them both vanishing when bounty hunters come to kill Nino.
      • Which adds another layer of Tear Jerker for Nino... She never gets to see her twin sons again, leaving them in the care of an orphanage...that eventually gets destroyed.
  • You have to kill Loyd, and rather had him to join. It's especially sad when you let Nino talk to him in chapter 27, right before he dies.
  • They actually give a tantalizing hint to who the father of Nils and Ninian is? as being of all people...NERGAL.
    • Nergal himself is a pretty tragic character. He lost his wife, supposedly, and both his children, supposedly, was dejected and assaulted by the only man he considered his friend, went absolutely insane, ruined countless people's lives, and then when you finally face him down and defeat him, he can't even remember his name he's so delusional. He's almost like a fantasy counterpart to Dr. Frankenstein.
  • "Canas was killed by continuity errors!" indeed. ;___;
  • Matthew and his lover who was spying on Nergal (who he was planning to propose to) from FE7. Ephidel orders Jaffar to kill her once they discover her being a spy, then leaves her corpse as a welcome gift to Eliwood's forces as they arrive on the Island. Matthew suspects Jaffar of the crime after he joins, in their 'support' conversations. In their 'A' support Matthew finds in himself to forgive Jaffar because he was under Nergal's complete control and over Ephidel's orders, and Jaffar reveals the last thing she said was 'Matthew'
  • In Fire Emblem 4, try to pair Levin with Tiltyu. Then get him to talk with Tinny in Chapter 10 (through Celice). Tinny will then reveal Tiltyu's downward spiral from a Genki Girl into a very depressed Broken Bird thanks to that bitch of a step mother Hilda. It even makes Levin, who is all aloof on other pairing's wife's death, actually BAWL. He'd dismiss it as a sand on his eyes, though.
    • If you pair him with Sylvia and then get him to talk to Leen, the results are also pretty sad. Leen will tell him about herself and her lonely years at the Darna orphanage, and how she wonders what did she do to deserve abandonment. Levin will try to cheer her up by saying her parents had good reasons to leave her there but they'll come back to her some day... then Leen mentions that she's often felt watched over by someone else, and she wants to know who and where her Mysterious Protector is. And Levin can't tell her that he is her dad, maybe because after being revived/possessed by Holsety, he can't remember everything clearly...
  • In Fire Emblem 7, Hector and Eliwood's A support is pretty tragic when you know the plot of FE6. They are talking about the warrior's oath to each other that they took when they were children. Hector, at one point in the conversation, tells Eliwood, "I don't want to hear any excuses about not being able to come help when we're old men." Eliwood then agrees and says, "Stay alive, Hector." In FE6, Eliwood becomes dreadfully ill and can't come to help Hector himself in the war on Bern, and Hector is killed in the war. That makes this conversation, which would ordinarily be a heartwarming display of loyalty and friendship, tragically ironic.
  • The ending to Fire Emblem 7 can be sad enough due to watching Nils and Ninian say goodbye forever, but if you maxed out Eliwood and Ninian's support, you watch Nils say goodbye... even to his own sister. If you were a fan of Nils, this is heartrending enough, but if you were on Hector's story and got the obscurely ridiculous-to-get hidden 19xx stage... You also watch Nils break down as a part of him realises he just watched his dad die. Get both conditions together, and...
  • Leaf and Celice's conversation in chapter 7 of Seisen no Keifu.

Celice: Prince Leaf, I can't begin to express my sorrows to you.

  • Really, the fates of pretty much all the significant villains in Blazing Blade, excepting Kenneth, Jerme, and Ephidel. Arguments can even be made for Darin (his death quote makes it fairly obvious that he's realized he's become a liability and that he gave up his son, army, and country for all of nothing) and Sonia (who is unceremoniously booted out of the Black Fang with the information that, no, she's not a perfect being, she's just a crazy Morph who thought she was).
    • Sonia's is very debatble, as not only was she a Complete Monster par excellence, but she flaunted her being a "perfect being" at Limstella's expense and mocked her for being a lowly Morph. Limstella killing her while informing her the truth of her existence is more or less poetic justice.
    • Even Kenneth and Jerme may be sympathetic, to some, when you consider the implication that Nergal had driven them both completely insane, as implied by [[spoiler: seeing them as Morphs in the last chapter, forced to fight for Nergal and - when you kill them - smiling and closing their eyes, looking peaceful. And Sonia was, for some, pitiful and broken a little too far to really enjoy her death. Pascal Gretzner from the Hector's Mode exclusive Chapter 25 plays the No Sympathy card completely straight, however.
  • Lord Elbert's death scene in Fire Emblem 7. What's shocking about Elbert's death is that he had a genuine chance of surviving the events of the story, unlike most of the fathers in the series, who usually die very early in the storyline. This character, in contrast, lasted a good third of the overall story, showed a more complex personality than many an FE styled Sacrificial Lamb, and even had a Dying Moment of Awesome by stabbing Nergal and greviously injuring him, even as he lies dying. But the real tragedy comes here:

Elbert: ...Eliwood. Be prepared. He will return...
Eliwood: All right, but for now... Let's leave this island... Let's go home.
Elbert: No, my son... I'm done here. You, Eliwood... You must finish this.
Eliwood: Don't say that! Mother is waiting in Pherae... She's waiting for you, Father!
Elbert: Ah... Eleanora... She will be cross with me. Eliwood... Your mother... I'm sorry... Tell her... I'm... sorry...
Eliwood: Father?... no... Please, not now... Not after all we've done to find you again... Father... Please... Open your eyes..... Faaatherrrrrrrr!!!!

    • Admittedly, the scene is slightly Narm-worthy near the end, but the emotional impact - especially with that blasted sad music playing in the background - really made the sequence highly depressing for me.
  • Lyndis getting to meet her grandfather. That is all.
  • Happy tears at the Rebirth scene of Path of Radiance. After that battle, you deserve this. As if the scene and the music weren't enough...
  • Lyn's and Eliwood's talks with Hector in the final battle of Fire Emblem 7. It's the very ultimate final boss, and yet it's so touching to see how concerned the two of them are for their friend. Eliwood delivers a truly wonderful speech.

Eliwood:When Lord Uther was in trouble, you weren't there by his side. You're angry with yourself...It's true, isn't it? I was the same way. I couldn't save my father... I couldn't save Ninian... Over and over, I blamed myself. But, you know, that's just a way of running from the sadness of loss. I think you've realized that already. Lord Uther...and Oswin... They were thinking of you above all else. You must see that, but if you continue to pretend you do not, you will lose sight of something terribly valuable. ...That's all I have to say.

    • And as if that wasn't enough, Lyn follows up with her He Will Not Cry, So I Cry for Him moment. The heartbreaking part is when you realize how similar the two are: he is completely alone, with no family left and nobody waiting for him back at Ostia - just like Lyn was after bandits slaughtered the rest of her tribe. Seeing her reaching out to him, crying for him, coupled with the boat scene and that music... *sob*
  • Ferry's Heroic BSOD in Seisen, when she learns that Mahnya, her beloved older sister, was killed by the Face Heel Turned Pamela.

Ferry: Please! Somebody tell me it's not true!

Kieran: General... Forgive me! I should have... trained harder...
Geoffrey: Kieran... No! I'm coming to help you! Hold tight! Kieran!!

      • There's also Sain from FE 7: "Lady Lyndis... I was so happy..."
    • And following the trend, have these from FE 8. All of these charas are among the funnier, more-stable, cheerier ones in the game, and then...

Forde: "Ah, Prince Ephraim... It... It was fun while it lasted."

Ewan: "I'm sorry, Teacher... I never--"

Tana: I've long been prepared for this day... Too long...

Amelia: I... I did well, didn't I?

Colm:: To think of it... Me... In this place... Neimi...

  • Hey, it's not like the Akaneian saga is all happy place with happy things either. This is capitalized mostly on Book 2 about Hardin. His life at Book 2 is just massive Tear Jerker. We see his downward spiral from a just and honorable knight, would've been Marth's greatest ally, and because of unrequited love and Gharnef's tinkering, becomes a Fallen Hero and tyrant to his otherwise just Empire. And when you killed him, he got back to his senses, apologized for being too weak to resist Gharnef's influence... and died while asking Marth to take care of Nyna and asked for her forgiveness because at least his love was genuine. Poor Hardin.
  • The implied death of Guy between FE 7 and FE 6. In his A support with Blood Knight Karel, master and student agree to meet in one year and test their swords against one another. In FE 6, Karel appears, while Guy does not, implying that he was killed in their duel.
    • Made worse by the title Karel has taken up by the time of the sixth game. "Sword Saint," aka, the title that Guy was given in his ending in the seventh game.
  • A rather subtle one from the eighth game: if you watch the portrait sprite of the character during their death quote, the character actually closes their eyes after the quote finishes (except for people who just retreat).
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Fire_Emblem/Tear_Jerker?oldid=1634988"